Fundraising - Part 2 - How We Did It

This is the second part of my 3 part blog on fundraising.  Part 1 described our situation, how we came to fundraise and the challenges we faced.  I hope this post will be more positive and will give other families an idea of where to start as it describes what we did.

As soon as we decided to start fundraising we were directed to the charity Tree of Hope.  A close friend recommended the charity to us after it helped her family.  The charity offers a number of services to families like ours; details can be found here: http://www.treeofhope.org.uk and an excerpt from their mission statement is:

 

'Our mission is to transform the lives of sick children and empower families.

Tree of Hope offers hope to the families of sick and disabled children in the UK who need specialist medical surgery, treatment, therapy and equipment in order to free them from suffering, giving a better quality to their young lives'

We approached the charity via email regarding fundraising for the eye gaze computer and later for other therapy equipment. Within hours we were connected and Tree of hope quickly helped us to setup a JustGiving page dedicated to Macsen: http://www.justgiving.com/macsen.  The charity assured us that any funds that we raise would be ring fenced for Macsen and would be used to buy his equipment when we need it.  

As all funds are managed by the charity including payments it gives donors and fundraisers the confidence that their money is being spent correctly.  The team at the charity are always helpful, supportive and have helped us throughout our journey.  Working with the charity also brought us other benefits:

* VAT exception - the charity have VAT exemption on most items

* Gift aid - donations can increase by 25% with giftaid using sites like JustGiving and VirginMoneyGiving 

* Opportunities - working with a registered charity opens up extra fundraising opportunities.  Large organisations normally require a charity number and like the safety of the overseeing charity commission 

* Experience and support - the charity has lots of experience of dealing with selling organisations and in some cases could influence discounts

Our amazing friends and family supported by Tree of Hope took the opportunity to help us and ran with it.  Without them we would not have achieved anywhere near what we have over the last 12 months!  Here are an example of some of the fundraising activities that were organised for Macsen:

* Kids fun day - our friend Hayley Beddows booked a community centre for a few hours during the school holidays, organised a tuck shop and raffle. A local company Sandcastle Entertainment also offered a free bouncy castle and entertainment. 

* School disco - our friend Jo Barrow organised a school disco after school one evening.  They charged for entry and the tuck shop.

* Macsen Rocks (Band and Auction Night) - 2 local bands: On Like Kong and The Shuffle played at our local rugby club where we auctioned a number of rare collectors items (https://www.facebook.com/events/246154305521200)

* Craft fair - 10 local crafters came together and paid for tables at our craft fair.  It was based in a community centre in Mumbles where there was very high tourist footfall (https://www.facebook.com/events/412983975483065). 

* Curry night - our friend Natalie Mccombe organised an event at a local Indian restaurant where everyone paid a fixed sum and a proportion went to the charity (https://www.facebook.com/events/197237677101409).

* ASDA - we were selected as one of ASDA's community supported charities along with another Tree of Hope child.  We were included in the green token vote and shared 3 months worth of 5p carrier bag charges for a large superstore.

* Pub Fundraiser - A local group led by my cousin Corinne organised a charity night at local pub. They had singers, donations for dares and a raffle.
* 3 Peaks - Gene Morgan did a crazy 3 peach challenge to raise funds for Macsen

* Fighting for Macsen - My brother in law David Smith took part in a white collar boxing match and was sponsored by his friends and colleagues.

* Community Bike Ride - A local group came together for a mammoth cycle ride.  We hadn't met any of the riders before and even when they tragically lost a member of their team (Paul 'Jakey' Driscoll) they were very committed to helping our cause (http://pauljakeydriscoll.co.uk/).

We also have some ongoing fundraising activities:

* The Killay Cooperative supermarket has a collection tin on each of its checkouts for the remainder or the year.

* Our friends Jo and Marc Barrow are running the Barcelona marathon in support of Macsen (www.virginmoneygiving.com/joandmarc).

* Our neighbours Warren and Alex Mccombe (father and son) are planning a huge bike ride on Father's Day in support of Macsen (https://www.justgiving.com/Warrenmccombe/).

My wife Lisa and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped us through this time, whether it be fundraising, donating or any way else, you are amazing!  My next post will show what your donations have bought and how they are benefitting Macsen.

Fundraising - Part 1 - Is It Begging?

For the last 12 months our have been fundraising for our son.  When we started we were very uncomfortable and it definitely felt like begging!  On reflection it still feels uncomfortable, but it feels great to see what our community has achieved and how my son Macsen is benefitting from it.  Throughout we have been split between our pride and helping our son.  This is the first part of a 3 part blog, which will cover our feelings towards fundraising, what we did and finally what we achieved.

I must start with a recommendation for anyone who needs help to look into charities, councils and the NHS (here is a good list to start with: http://www.smartboxat.com/funding/).  Each of these are setup to help families to fund specific items.  This works for lots of families every year, but budgets are often tight so they cannot help everyone and decisions are often made using means testing with very low thresholds.  Although this is understandable it unfortunately leaves a lot of families without essential financial support.

We found ourselves in this situation.  I'm not going to claim that we are poor or on the breadline.  My wife and I both had well paid jobs before Macsen was born and like many other professionals in their twenties we bought a house at the top of our budget that was dependant on 2 salaries.  As Macsen's conditions developed it became clear that my wife wouldn't be able to return to work.  This left us in the position where our income was reduced by over a third.  Our income is still considered good, but our little disposable income disappeared at the time we needed it most.

We were in the position where we were identifying equipment and products that would help our son's development, but we quickly learnt that the special label comes with a large price tag.  Here are some examples of comparable standard and special needs products, it's pretty obvious that essential items for someone with a disability are extremely expensive.

The first product that we knew we needed to get was a Tobii EyeGaze computer (please see my last blog for details).  We knew we had to buy a system for Macsen, we had tightening budgets and we realised that we were not suitable for charitable grants.  As professionals we never thought we would be in this position, but we reluctantly decided to fundraise ourselves.

Over the last 12 months we have fundraised a computer and therapy room.  Help came from many directions:

* Our amazing friends and family who had been looking for a way to help us.  As soon as we announced (Facebook message) that we were fundraising we had donations and offers to help within minutes.  Our friends and family have all said were grateful for an opportunity to help!

* Companies want to help children like Macsen - most companies we approached offered prizes or donations instantly and were happy to help.  They have money set aside to help charities and many allow their local stores/offices to donate to local causes.  The message we kept hearing was that they were pleased to know exactly where their money was going.

* People we didn't know who were looking for causes to help - as the message of our fundraising spread we were contacted by many people (friends of friends who we had never met) who were offering their time, money and support.

Accepting all of this support was very difficult and overwhelming at times.  On reflection it is clear that we made the right decision.  Macsen has benefited from all of the things that the community bought and without them he wouldn't be where he is today and would not have the opportunities that are now ahead of him.

If you are in the position we were in a year ago I urge you to consider fundraising.  Please swallow your pride (I know it's easier said than done) and ask for help!

My next blog will describe how we worked with a fundraising charity, what benefits this brought and the events were organised.